Events

People get ready...
there's a Holiday Train a 'comin!

Saturday, December 10, 2:20 p.m., New Hope Ice Arena

The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train travels through the US and Canada each December to spread holiday cheer and collect donations for local food shelves. This year, the train is coming to New Hope for the first time! The stop will feature a musical performance by recording artists Kelly Prescott and Colin James at 2:30 p.m. Audience members are encouraged to donate heart-healthy, non-perishable food items and cash to benefit The Food Group, which is based in New Hope. Refreshments will be available. Parking will be limited. A park-and-ride shuttle will be available with pickups at New Hope City Hall, 4401 Xylon Avenue N and Crystal Community Center, 4800 Douglas Drive. (shuttle information and more...)

Council approves luxury apartment project west of golf course

The New Hope City Council, acting as the city’s Economic Development Authority (EDA), approved a purchase and development agreement with Alatus New Hope LLC for the construction of a 182-unit luxury apartment complex at 8400 Bass Lake Road at its meeting on November 28. (more...)

Commissioners sought

The City Council is accepting applications for openings on three volunteer commissions: Planning, Citizen Advisory, and Human Rights. For additional information about the responsibilities of each commission, when they meet and an application, please visit www.ci.new-hope.mn.us/commission_applicant or call the city clerk at 763-531-5117. The deadline for applications is December 30.

New Hope In Focus
photo contest winners announced

The New Hope City Council recognized the winners of the 2016 New Hope In Focus photo contest at its meeting on November 28. (more...) The winners are:

Nature - Tom Christensen for "New Hope's Night Light"

People - Molly Sanborn for "Bath Time Reflections"

Places - Dack Nehring for "Running Free"

Youth - Joshua Englert for "Bumblebee"

People's Choice - Marguerite Winker for "Our Momma Duck"

Food and toy drives

City employees are sponsoring holiday food and toy drives again this year.
Unopened, nonperishable food items will be accepted at drop-off sites in City Hall, 4401 Xylon Ave. N., and the Public Works maintenance facility, 5500 International Parkway. Drop-off site hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The New Hope Police Department is sponsoring a holiday toy drive. Unwrapped toys may be dropped off 24 hours a day in the lobby of the New Hope Police Department, 4401 Xylon Ave. N. (lower level).
Donations to either drive may also be made by cash or check. Please drop off toys by December 9 to ensure they can be distributed before the holidays. Food will be accepted until December 16.

New Hope Sparkles holiday lighting contest

Holiday light displays really help to make the season bright! Nominate a neighbor (or yourself) for the fifth annual New Hope Sparkles holiday lighting contest.The contest, awards first and second place honors to the best residential display and first place to a local business. Nomination forms are available on the city’s website, www.ci.new-hope.mn.us/sparkles, or at New Hope City Hall, 4401 Xylon Ave. N. The nomination deadline is December 9. Winners will be recognized at a January City Council meeting.

Hockey association makes donation

The Armstrong Cooper Youth Hockey Association (ACYHA) presented the New Hope City Council with a check for $5,000 recently to be used toward improvements at the New Hope Ice Arena. The New Hope Arena is home ice for the ACYHA. The association has donated nearly $47,000 to the city of New Hope over the last five years.(more...)

No on-street parking after snowfall

With wintertime here, it’s important for residents to remember New Hope’s on-street parking restrictions:

On-street parking is prohibited in New Hope as soon as 1½ inches of snow have fallen.

Vehicles must remain off the street until the pavement has been plowed to full width. If possible, residents are encouraged to avoid parking on the street for 24 hours after a snowfall.

Vehicles violating the city’s parking restrictions may be ticketed or towed.

New Hope Space Needs
Citizen Task Force recommendations

The New Hope Space Needs Citizens Task Force has recommended to the City Council that a new police station and city hall be built to replace the existing facility and that the new municipal building be built on the civic center site in the current location of the swimming pool.

Don't be a victim of mail theft

The New Hope Police Department has received at least four reports of stolen mail that led to the creation of fraudulent checks that were cashed against a victim's bank account, and a few others where checks or money orders were stolen, washed and re-written.

This is not a new crime, but unfortunately it has become easy for a thief to create fake checks using the information found on a victim's checks.(more)

New Hope Police Department 2015 Annual Report

The New Hope Police Department recently completed and published its 2015 Annaul Report. The report includes a summary of department activities and crime statistics.

New Hope's dog parks have closed for the season

Now that the weather has turned, New Hope maintenance staff has begun the process of converting the city's three off-leash dog parks to outdoor ice hockey rinks. Locations affected by this changeover include Civic Center Park (44th and Xylon), Liberty Park (60th and Gettysburg), and Lions Park (38th and Oregon).

Street Infrastructure Levy

Unlike neighboring communities, New Hope includes street improvements in property tax levy. When comparing the property taxes New Hope homeowners will pay in 2016 to comparably priced homes in nearby communities, the city's property taxes appear to be a bit higher than average. New Hope's total tax capacity rate in 2016 is 57.405%, or seventh lowest of the nine communities. That ranking, however, does not take in to account that New Hope is the only one of those communities that does not levy special assessments for street infrastructure improvement projects. (more...)

Council accepts feasibility report for 2017 Northwood North project

On September 26, the City Council accepted a feasibility report from Stantec, the city engineer, for a street and infrastructure project being considered north of Northwood Lake in 2017. That project would involve reconstruction or full-depth reclamation of about 1.6 miles of street and mill and overlay of about 0.8 miles of street. The city plans to issue general obligation bonds before the end of 2016 to fund the project.

New Hope Council approves utility franchise fee increase

The New Hope City Council approved an ordinance amendment at its meeting on August 22 to increase the city’s gas and electric franchise fees for 2017. The city of New Hope first implemented a utility franchise fee in 2003. The residential franchise fee, at that time, was $1.50 per month, per utility for each customer.
New Hope had not increased its utility franchise rates since 2003.

The Council approved amended utility franchise fees that are equivalent to the average rates currently charged by other cities in Hennepin County. The residential gas and electric franchise fees will double to $3 per month, per utility for each customer. New Hope will use the additional revenue generated by the higher franchise feesto help fund the city’s pavement management program. (more...)

New Hope Council accepts 2015 annual financial report

The New Hope City Council formally accepted the city of New Hope 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report at its May 23 meeting. Bill Lauer, from the certified public accounting firm of Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich, and Co., gave a summary review of the scope of the audit, their findings and opinions of the city’s records and financial data, and presented an overview of the city’s financial status compared to state-wide averages for cities its size. Lauer noted that the 2015 audit was “very positive.” The MMKR Powerpoint presentation, the audit reports, and the 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report are available for review in the finance section of the city of New Hope’s website, www.ci.new-hope.mn.us.

Performance Measurement Report

The City Council reviewed an updated version of the City of New Hope Performance Measurement Report at its June work session. The report is a cumulative summary compiled from various sources, primarily the City Services Survey, an annual paper and web-based survey, and the Morris Leatherman Company Survey, an extensive professional community-wide phone survey. The latest version also incorporates SMART goals (Specific-Measurable-Achievable-Realistic-Timely).

2015 Water Quality Report

The Minnesota Department of Health requires water suppliers, including the city of New Hope, to prepare annual water Consumer Confidence Reports to report the water quality for the previous year. To read New Hope's 2015 report, click on the link below.